The present invention relates to a pressure detector adapted to be mounted in a tire.
It is known to provide a tire, of a private car or of heavy weight, with a pressure detector so as to know the pressure prevailing within this tire without having to connect a pressure detector to the corresponding valve. Such detectors are used in surveillance systems for the pressure of tires on certain vehicles. Such a system is known to those skilled in the art.
The tire is mounted on a wheel rim and a valve permits the introduction of air under pressure to inflate the tire or to let air escape from the tire. When such a tire is provided with a pressure detector, this detector is generally fixed on the wheel rim at the valve.
This securement of the detector at one point has several drawbacks. The detector is generally of parallelepipedal shape and does not match the shape of the wheel rim, which is round. It is thus difficult to hold the detector against this wheel rim. The detector thus has a natural tendency to vibrate, even to swing along the periphery of the wheel rim.
The present invention thus has for its object to provide a detector having a better engagement with the wheel rim. Preferably, this detector should be adaptable to wheel rims of different diameters.
To this end, it provides a pressure detector adapted to be placed in a tire mounted on a wheel rim provided with a valve, permitting introduction into and withdrawal of air from the tire, the detector being fixed to the valve.
According to the invention, the detector comprises, spaced from the point of securement to the valve, a deformable lip adapted to form a continuous bearing zone against the wheel rim.
The deformable lip can thus come to bear against the wheel rim. The detector is thus fixed on the one hand to the valve and comprises a bearing region spaced from the point of securement and permitting, thanks to the deformable nature of the lip, best matching of the shape of the wheel rim. The bearing region is for example a bearing line that can take any shape whatsoever (straight, curved, broken, . . . ).
In a preferred embodiment, the detector comprises a support of synthetic material and the lip is formed of one piece with the support. In this embodiment, the lip is for example made by thinning the material, which gives it flexibility.
One embodiment provides that the detector has a substantially parallelepipedal shape and that the deformable lip is provided along one substantially rectilinear edge of the detector. In this embodiment, the lip extends over all or a portion of the length of the edge on which it is located.
Preferably, the deformable lip is disposed opposite the point of securement of the detector to the valve, so as to be spaced the maximum distance from this point of securement.
According to a second embodiment, the deformable lip is constituted by a plurality of teeth adapted to create a substantially continuous bearing zone against the wheel rim, after being flattened.